[Atheromatous coronary artery disease: value of a study of calcification during assessment (author's transl)]

Correlations between calcifications and stenoses observed on coronarography were studied in 200 patients with coronary heart disease and calcifications in the coronary arteries. There was a very close relationship (p less than 0.0005) between the number of calcified and stenosed main coronary vessels. Calcification in the circumflex and right coronary vessels is a specific sign of stenosis. There was a high frequency of poor arterial beds distal to the stenoses when these were calcified. It is considered that the detection of coronary calcification by means of a brilliance amplifier constitutes one of the most effective non-invasive methods for assessing coronary artery disease.